Wyrmar
Geography The Huluç desert is the main feature of Wyrmar, and covers all but the coast and northernmost areas. Wyrmar has long bordered the Caercian Seas, much as Palas Caercia has, though they know the two seas by different names. The Wyrm's Pool and the Wyrm's Tail for the eastern and western Sea respectively. People Wyrmar is inhabited by the Wyrmar, a demihuman race of wiry people usually around 160 cm for adult males, 162 cm for adult females. They have dry, thin leathery skin in various tones and dull blue eyes. They live in caves that were carved in ancient times into far-stretching tunnels, and the wind blows through it from cooler areas, thus allowing them to have natural ventilation. Music is important to the Wyrmar's lives, and the playing of drums and gongs in large groups is sometimes done as a ritual to summon the Hulutahn for riding or harvest. The Wyrmar have coarse hair that they decorate and often wear in elaborate braids. Usually part of their heads is shaven and the braids fall to one side. They are a symbol of pride among the people. Older men sometimes exhibit more hair around their cheekbones, but otherwise they lack facial hair. History Long an individual protectorate of the Salterri Imperium the province of Wyrmar has long held a position of great importance yet little size within the Greater Imperium. The Wyrmar themselves have never expressed a desire to expand, living peaceably amidst the desert and upon the shores of the Caercian Seas. The Wyrmar had never been quick to rally behind a single leader before the arrival of the Salterri emissaries, believing each tribe could be led only by a tribe leader and that any who would seek to lead a greater number would invite only folly and death from not knowing the needs and names of the individuals within the tribes he led. In fact, when the Imperium first came to Wyrmar they met with a tribe happy to accommodate them and listen to their words and make agreements, but they made agreements only for that tribe and when the Imperium returned to follow through on these deals with other tribes they were turned back fiercely and a band of Wyrmar tribes joined together in opposition to Imperium dealings. A small war was fought with the surprised Salterri and the Hulutahn of the Wyrmar saw the still young Imperium beaten but not defeated. As the Salterri retreated to lick their wounds the band of tribes who had opposed them came to revere the general who had led them in victory against the Salterri, believing him to be the physical embodiment of the Wyrm Below, carrying out the Wyrm's desires by keeping foreigners at bay and he came to be known as Wyrmsclaw. This reverence and adulation eventually led to the banding together of all the Wyrmar tribes beneath the banner of Wyrmsclaw. The Salterri eventually returned, intent to bring the Wyrmar tribes who they still believed to be scattered tribes under their control but they met instead a unified people following an organized religion and revering a leader and land. This leader, the daughter of Wyrmsclaw, negotiated with the Salterri, allowing Wyrmar to maintain its independence as a Protectorate rather than as a province of the Salterri Imperium. By the time of Xiu-hen Bai Lu the Wyrmar had integrated heavily with the culture of the Salterri Imperium, their line of leadership having been bonded with the Xiu line of the Salterri's own Silver Throne. When the prospect of joining the Caercian Consortium was brought before the Governor by his own Qzare Hanyeo, who had agreed to the exchange for Palas Caercia's discovery and colonization of Nan Hai Nian, he hardly batted an eye, trusting the wisdom of the Qzare to better the Imperium as a whole. Xiu-Hen Aru, Bai-Liu's daughter was married to Gaius Caercia and the land of Wyrmar was integrated into the Caercian Consortium and came to having a greater voice within the Imperium itself. Resources Hulutahn (or wurms) are giant worms with thick plates on their sides and most of their back. Their saliva is both poisonous and acidic, but can be treated by boiling it with certain herbs to create an incredibly nutritious sort of soup. Cacti (singular cactus) are a very common occurence in Wyrmar and its only Great resource, and in times of need or celebration are used as a food source. Hallucinations are common if more than a single cup is drunk from its juice, and in large quantities its lethal. Gulpsand is a pseudonatural occurence in Wyrmar where small ooze-like creatures have mixed with the sand to create a kind of quicksand that can quickly envelop a person, after which the creatures begin to slowly digest them as a group. Throwing a glob of it at someone can cause part of the victim to be enveloped quickly, but it's relatively easy to remove when in small quantities and not touching other sand. The Wyrmar have great need for fuel such as in the form of wood or coal, as little is found in the Wyrmar desert. Religion The majority religion in Wyrmar is She-Of-Silver-Spear-And-Coin, the Lady that the Salterri worship known as the Hailings of the Silver Sea. There is a strong minority who revere the Wyrm Below, an organized religion with belief of a wyvern who lives below the desert deep within the earth, and tales say the wurms of Wyrmar are its offspring, appendages or spies variously. Belief in the Wyrm Below is sometimes shared by those who primarily adhere to another religion. Adherents to the Wyrm Below greatly revere the wurms and find them to be of great importance to their culture, both religiously and economically. The Wyrm Below religion does not have defined and recorded tenets as many other organized faiths do, instead relying on the interpretation and beliefs of the practitioners and adherents to the faith to define the exact faith for themselves. General beliefs share that the Wyrm Below waits to emerge back into the world as it once did before and bring about great change. Most believe the Wyrm is a force of good, though whether a benevolent being who gives and guides or one of justice who judges and carries forth sentencing upon the world varies among believers. Many anecdotes about the Wyrm exist and most Wyrmar know them by heart, having heard them from the time they were a child to their time as elders. Though no official clergy exists, due to the lack of defined social strata within the religious body, there are recognized practitioners whose interpretations and readings of the visions from the Wyrm are more widely accepted among the people. These mystic-scholar-philosophers are commonly referred to as Gurus and act as wisemen and advisers for the people of Wyrmar, often travelling far and abroad between different Wyrmar settlements to hear out problems and adjudicate disputes. References http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18019881&postcount=36 Category:Regions Category:Former Capital Regions Category:Regions in the Salterri Imperium Category:Regions of Telluris Category:Former Tellurian Capital Regions